Nintendo Japan has announced its Annual Download Ranking, revealing which Nintendo Switch titles were the most downloaded in 2022. Third-person shooter Splatoon 3 is the top-selling eShop game, followed by Game Freak's Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Violet.Splatoon 3 launched worldwide in September and quickly became the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game in Japan. In its first three days, Splatoon 3 reached more than 3 million domestic sales. The third entry in the Splatoon franchise vastly outperformed the sales of its predecessor, Splatoon 2, which sold less than one million units in its launch period.The 2022 Annual Download Ranking was published on the Nintendo official website in Japanese. The ranking lists the top 30 best-selling eShop titles, featuring some 2022 releases like Nintendo Switch Sports and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Several older releases also find a place in the rankings, including Among Us and Undertale. Below is the full ranking:
- Splatoon 3
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus
- Pokemon Violet
- Pokemon Scarlet
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Overcooked 2
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Kirby's Dream Buffet
- Among Us
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Minecraft
- Human: Fall Flat
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- Mario Party Superstars
- Mon-Yu
- eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2022
- Together! The Battle Cats
- Inside
- Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!
- Dragon Quest X Offline
- Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation
- Resident Evil 6
- Splatoon 2
- Unravel Two
- Undertale
Some games were also featured in Nintendo's 2021 Annual Download Ranking. Last year, Capcom's Monster Hunter Rise had the most digital downloads in Japan. The action role-playing game beat out Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, the remakes of the 2006 titles Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Splatoon 2 only reached 17th in the rankings.
This month, Nintendo released the first content update for Splatoon 3: Chill Season. The update added new clothes, weapons, stages, and kits. One of the new weapons is the Splattershot Nova, which boasts a high fire rate but inflicts low damage. Another notable weapon added by the update is the Inkbrush Nouveau, a melee weapon that can place Ink Mines.
Like Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3 includes a single-player story mode. Fans of the Splatoon franchise are speculating the identity or existence of mysterious agents, like Agent 5. In Splatoon 3, there are no Agents 4 to 7, but the roster of agents may expand in future installments of the Splatoon franchise.
Splatoon 3 is available on Nintendo Switch.